Hypoxia-Responsive T2-to-T1 Dynamically Switchable Extremely Small Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Sensitive Tumor Imaging In Vivo.

To realize the accurate diagnosis of tumors by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), switchable magnetic resonance contrast agents (CAs) between T1 and T2 contrast enhancement that are constructed based on extremely small iron oxide nanoparticles (ESIONPs) have been developed in recent years. We herein report, for the first time, a novel ESIONP-based nanocluster (named EAmP), which exhibited hypoxia responsiveness to the tumor microenvironment and offered a T2-to-T1-switchable contrast enhancement function, effectively distinguishing between the normal tissue and tumor tissue. In detail, active perfluorophenyl ester-modified ESIONPs with a diameter of approximately 3.6 nm were initially synthesized, and then 4,4'-azodianiline was used as a cross-linker to facilitate the formation of nanoclusters from ESIONPs through the reaction between the active ester and amine. Finally, poly(ethylene glycol) was further modified onto nanoclusters by utilizing the remaining active ester residues. The resulting EAmP demonstrated satisfactory colloidal stability and favorable biosafety and exhibited a desired T2-to-T1-switchable function, as evidenced by conversion from nanocluster to the dispersed state and a significant decrease in the r2/r1 ratio from 14.86 to 1.61 when exposed to a mimical hypoxic environment in the solution. Moreover, EAmP could decompose into dispersed ESIONPs at the tumor region, resulting in a switch from T2 to T1 contrast enhancement. This T2-to-T1-switchable contrast agent offers high sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio to realize the accurate diagnosis of tumors. In conclusion, hypoxia-responsive EAmP is a potential MRI nanoprobe for improving the diagnostic accuracy of solid tumors.

Naturally biocompatible melanin based iron-complex nanoparticles for pH-responsive magnetic resonance imaging.

The sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging mainly depend on the relaxation capacity of contrast agents (CAs) and their accumulated amount at the pathological region. Due to the better biocompatibility and high-spin capacity, Fe-complexes have been studied widely as an alternative to replace popular Gd-based CAs associated with potential biotoxicity. Compared with a variety of Fe complex-based CAs, such as small molecular, macrocyclic, multinuclear complexes, the form of nanoparticle exhibits outstanding longitudinal relaxation, but the clinical transformation was still limited by the inconspicuous difference of contrast between tumor and normal tissue. The enhanced effect of contrast is a positive relation as relaxation of CAs and their concentration in desired region. To specifically improve the amount of CAs accumulated in the tumor, pH-responsive polymer poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOz) was modified on melanin, a ubiquitous natural pigment providing much active sites for chelating with Fe(III). The Fe(III)-Mel-PEOz we prepared could raise the tumor cell endocytosis efficiency via switching surface charge from anion to cation with the stimuli of the decreasing pH of tumor microenvironment. The change of pH has negligible effect on ther1of Fe(III)-Mel-PEOz, which is always maintained at around 1.0 mM-1s-1at 0.5 T. Moreover, Fe(III)-Mel-PEOz exhibited low cytotoxicity, and satisfactory enhancement of positive contrast effectin vivo. The excellent biocompatibility and stable relaxation demonstrate the high potential of Fe(III)-Mel-PEOz in the diagnosis of tumor.

Remarkable decrease in threshold for electrically pumped random ultraviolet lasing from ZnO film by incorporation of Zn2TiO4 nanoparticles.

We have comparatively investigated electrically pumped random lasing (RL) actions of two metal-insulator-semiconductor structured devices using pure ZnO and Zn2TiO4-nanoparticle-incorporated ZnO films as the semiconductor components i.e. light-emitting layers, respectively. It is demonstrated that the device using the Zn2TiO4-nanoparticle-incorporated ZnO film as the light-emitting layer exhibits a much smaller threshold current for the electrically pumped RL, which is ascribed to the enhanced multiple light scattering by incorporation of Zn2TiO4 nanoparticles into ZnO film. It is believed that this work provides a strategy for developing low-threshold ZnO-based random lasers.

Wettability, surface microstructure and mechanical properties of films based on phosphorus oxychloride-treated zein.

BACKGROUND: Zein, the predominant protein in corn, has been extensively studied as an alternative packaging material in edible and biodegradable films. However, films made from 100% zein are brittle under normal conditions. The aim of this investigation was to improve the film-forming properties of zein by chemical phosphorylation. The surface hydrophobicity, surface microstructure and mechanical properties of films based on untreated and phosphorus oxychloride (POCl(3))-treated zein were evaluated and compared. The effect of POCl(3) treatment on the rheological properties of zein solutions was also studied. RESULTS: POCl(3) treatment, especially at pH 7 and 9, led to an increase in the apparent viscosity of zein solutions. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed that the film based on POCl(3) -treated zein at pH 7 had a stone-like surface microstructure with a higher roughness (R(q)) than the untreated zein film. The AFM data may partially account for the phenomenon that this film exhibited high surface hydrophobicity (H(0) ). POCl(3) treatment diminished the tensile strength (TS) of zein films from 4.83-6.67 to 1.3-2.29 MPa. However, the elongation at break (EAB) of the films at pH 7 and 9 increased from 3.0-4.5% (control film) to 150.1-122.7% (POCl(3) -treated film), indicating the potential application of zein films in wrapping foods or in non-food industries such as sugar, fruit or troche that need good extension packing materials. CONCLUSION: The data presented suggest that the properties of zein films could be modulated by chemical phosphorylation treatment with POCl(3) at an appropriate pH value.

Single-Atom Gadolinium Anchored on Graphene Quantum Dots as a Magnetic Resonance Signal Amplifier.

A single-atom metal doped on carbonaceous nanomaterials has attracted increasing attention due to its potential applications as high-performance catalysts. However, few studies focus on the applications of such nanomaterials as nanotheranostics for simultaneous bioimaging and cancer therapy. Herein, it is pioneeringly demonstrated that the single-atom Gd anchored onto graphene quantum dots (SAGd-GQDs), with dendrite-like morphology, was successfully prepared. More importantly, the as-fabricated SAGd-GQDs exhibits a robustly enhanced longitudinal relaxivity (r1 = 86.08 mM-1 s-1) at a low Gd3+ concentration of 2 µmol kg-1, which is 25 times higher than the commercial Gd-DTPA (r1 = 3.44 mM-1 s-1). In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that the obtained SAGd-GQDs is a highly potent and contrast agent to obtain high-definition MRI, thereby opening up more opportunities for future precise clinical theranostics.

Antibacterial activity of two-dimensional MoS2 sheets.

Graphene-like two-dimensional materials (2DMats) show application potential in optoelectronics and biomedicine due to their unique properties. However, environmental and biological influences of these 2DMats remain to be unveiled. Here we reported the antibacterial activity of two-dimensional (2D) chemically exfoliated MoS2 (ce-MoS2) sheets. We found that the antibacterial activity of ce-MoS2 sheets was much more potent than that of the raw MoS2 powders used for the synthesis of ce-MoS2 sheets possibly due to the 2D planar structure (high specific surface area) and higher conductivity of the ce-MoS2. We investigated the antibacterial mechanisms of the ce-MoS2 sheets and proposed their antibacterial pathways. We found that the ce-MoS2 sheets could produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), different from a previous report on graphene-based materials. Particularly, the oxidation capacity of the ce-MoS2 sheets toward glutathione oxidation showed a time and concentration dependent trend, which is fully consistent with the antibacterial behaviour of the ce-MoS2 sheets. The results suggest that antimicrobial behaviors were attributable to both membrane and oxidation stress. The antibacterial pathways include MoS2-bacteria contact induced membrane stress, superoxide anion (O2(˙-) induced ROS production by the ce-MoS2, and the ensuing superoxide anion-independent oxidation. Our study thus indicates that the tailoring of the dimension of nanomaterials and their electronic properties would manipulate antibacterial activity.